What the DeAndre Washington trade tells us about the Kansas City Chiefs

What we can learn from the Chiefs only trade of DeAndre Washington before the NFL’s deadline?

On Tuesday afternoon, the NFL’s trade deadline was fast approaching and it was impossible to find anything meaningful circulating concerning the Kansas City Chiefs. The lack of smoke made sense given that no fire was expected to show itself at Arrowhead Stadium. Instead, the Chiefs were expected to likely sit out any trade activity given the already loaded nature of the roster and the financial limitations of taking on any more big contracts.

The Chiefs did avoid making any head-turning deal, and the roster largely remains intact from before the trade deadline. But general manager Brett Veach did manage to gain himself some positioning in next offseason’s first-year player draft with the trade of running back DeAndre Washington.

As a refresher, the Chiefs traded Washington to the Miami Dolphins on Tuesday for a boost of a round in 2021 NFL Draft positioning on Day 3. The Dolphins received Washington and the Chiefs seventh round selection, which will likely be at or near the very bottom of every round, in exchange for the Dolphins sixth round pick, which should be higher and maybe even considerably higher—depending on how the Fins’ season finishes out.

First, let’s look at this from the draft perspective. The Chiefs had already traded away next year’s sixth round pick to move back into the 2020 draft in the seventh round. Remember, the Chiefs were finished after the end of the fifth round and many fans watching the draft believed the Chiefs were done when they selected Michigan lineman Michael Danna. Instead, Veach flipped a future sixth (2021) to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for the chance to take Tulane cornerback Thakarius “BoPete” Keyes.

The Washington trade not only puts the Chiefs back in the round in which they lacked a pick, but it even gives them a higher spot than before. The Dolphins have a relatively easy schedule in the second half, with games against the entire AFC West (meaning the Chargers, Raiders and Broncos are all in play) as well as the Jets and Bengals. However they also face the Chiefs, the Patriots (not so scary these days), Cardinals and Bills. The West can be tougher than the Fins might expect as well, so it’s hard to say what Miami’s record could be but predicting a mid-round slot is a nice boost for Veach.

In addition, this gives the Chiefs a nice overall cache of picks. If the NFL’s compensatory pick formula works out as expected, Veach should have an extra fourth and fifth round pick at his disposal at the end of those rounds. The swap of a 7th for a 6th strengthens his Day 3 haul. Overall, the Chiefs would have the following:

• 1st round
• 2nd round
• 3rd round
• 4th round
• 4th round (comp. for Kendall Fuller)
• 5th round
• 5th round (comp. for Emmanuel Ogbah)
• 6th round (MIA)

For a young team with plenty of talent already on the roster, Veach and his staff are going to have some assets to package together in order to move up their board if they desire.

Beyond the draft, Washington wasn’t exactly a notable performer for the Chiefs in 2020. He signed a one-year deal last spring on the cheap and, from there, failed to really make any discernible impact on the coaching staff. The team turned to Darrel Williams and Darwin Thompson week after week, even after Washington became familiar with the staff and the playbook. He was active for a single game all year—Week 7 against the Broncos—and he was given only 3 carries. He rushed for 5 yards that game.

When the Chiefs signed Le’Veon Bell, it closed the door on anything Washington might have to offer, so gaining any draft asset for a fringe player with no present or future on the team was a good move.

From the Dolphins perspective, it’s worth noting that Washington sat on the team’s practice squad for weeks earlier this year, which meant they could have signed the running back away from the Chiefs at any time without having to give up a draft pick. Did the Chiefs promote Washington to the active roster knowing he might have trade value around this time? It’s an interesting question.

So the deadline passed without much fanfare. But at the very least, Veach was able to gain some draft flexibility and positioning for a player who wasn’t going anywhere on this team as it is. Now Washington gets a chance to show what he can do for a team that is clearly hungry to give him some meaningful reps.